Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers

There are accidents in Tulsa and across Oklahoma every day that seriously injure and sometimes kill others. For instance, between 2011-16 in Tulsa, there were 91 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles, as well as four cycling fatalities. Whether it’s a car or truck accident, slip and fall, or medical mistake, if someone’s negligence causes you or a loved one injury, you have the right to seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.

You aren’t required to retain an attorney to seek damages, but hiring Tulsa personal injury lawyers to represent you increases the chances of a successful case outcome. With the funds secured by your personal injury attorney in your claim, you can get the medical care you need to recover and better provide for your family. Nix Patterson’s personal injury attorneys have obtained substantial settlements and jury verdicts for injured clients for decades and may be able to assist you.

What Is a Personal Injury Case?

The CDC reports that almost 140 million Americans seek treatment in an ER for an unintentional injury yearly. Of these cases, many may have been caused by another party’s negligence, so they could be potential personal injury cases.

If another person’s actions injured you, you could have a personal injury case. In most situations, the misconduct is negligence, but it also could be recklessness or an intentional action. If you think you could have a personal injury case, ask the following questions:

• Were you hurt in a motor vehicle accident that someone else caused?
• Did you slip and fall because of a hazardous condition the owner should have addressed?
• Were you injured because of a medical professional’s mistake or inaction?
• Has a hazardous product injured you?
• Did you suffer an injury of another kind because of someone’s mistake or misdeed?

If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, you should speak to a Tulsa personal injury attorney for a complimentary consultation. You could have a personal injury claim that could result in compensation for you and your family.

Types of Personal Injury Cases

Most Oklahoma personal injury claims can be classified into several personal injury case types. There are other types, but the following are most common:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

There are several types of motor vehicle accidents that happen often in Tulsa:

• Automobile accidents: These are the most common personal injury claim in Tulsa and nationwide. Tulsa has many automobile accidents on Memorial Drive, 81st Street, Sheridan Road, and Lewis Avenue. Broken Arrow Expressway downtown and east is also a common accident hotspot.
• Motorcycle accidents: Motorcyclists are exposed to the elements, so their injuries are often catastrophic or fatal.
• Tractor-trailer accidents: Truck accidents often cause horrific injuries, but trucking companies have excellent lawyers and stingy insurance companies. So, ensure you hire a highly skilled personal injury attorney to go up against these intimidating adversaries.
• Pedestrian accidents: Too many pedestrians are injured and killed in Tulsa when drivers don’t obey the law and disregard others’ safety.

Product Liability

A product liability claim can occur when an unreasonably hazardous product injures someone. The injured person doesn’t have to be the one who bought the product. In Oklahoma, you need to prove that the product had one of these defects:

• Manufacturing defect
• Design defect
• Failure to warn about product dangers

In some situations, winning a product liability claim is possible without even proving that the manufacturer was at fault.

Dog Bites

Most Oklahoma personal injury claims involving animal attacks are dog bites. If the dog owner knew their dog could be aggressive, they could owe you compensation in a personal injury claim.

Medical Malpractice

A medical malpractice claim occurs when a doctor or healthcare facility injures you through subpar medical care. Common medical malpractice claims are due to surgical error, misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and prescription mistakes.

Premises Liability

The owner or manager of a home or business must ensure that the property is safe for visitors and guests and, in some cases, even for trespassers. The majority of premises liability claims are filed against companies, and the most common type is a slip and fall accident. The property owner or manager must warn of or repair any hazardous condition they should have or could have known about.

Wrongful Death

Any personal injury claim in Oklahoma can become a wrongful death lawsuit if the person dies from the injury. Oklahoma wrongful death laws allow the estate’s personal representative to file a lawsuit and receive damages, such as burial expenses, medical expenses, the deceased’s pain and suffering, loss of inheritance and future wages, and more.

Job-Related Accidents

In Oklahoma, workers’ compensation covers most job-related injuries, and you cannot usually sue your employer for damages. The advantage of getting workers’ compensation is you don’t have to prove your employer or another party was at fault. However, workers’ comp doesn’t offer pain and suffering compensation. If a third party injured you at work, it could be possible to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Compensation in Tulsa Personal Injury Cases

If someone injures you in Tulsa because of negligence or an intentionally wrongful act, the state’s tort laws allow you to file a claim for damages. You could obtain compensation through a personal injury lawsuit or an out-of-court settlement. With your attorney’s assistance, you could receive the following types of compensation:

Economic Damages

When someone harms you, you will probably have financial losses. The compensation you obtain for these losses is called economic damage. The amount you receive is often easy to calculate because it’s simple to add up what your financial losses have been, such as:

• Medical expenses you have incurred because of the injury, such as doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, and out-of-pocket prescription costs.
• Future medical expenses if you have long-term or permanent injuries or will still need care after the claim is resolved.
• Lost earnings for the time lost from work, as well as sick days and vacation you were required to take.
• Future lost wages if you are unable to work or your ability to earn a living was affected.
• Property losses, such as a totaled or damaged vehicle.

Non-Economic Damages

You also may be entitled to compensation in your Tulsa personal injury claim for losses that aren’t as easy to quantify but affect your quality of life.

For instance, your personal injuries could cause severe physical and mental pain and affect your ability to engage in exercise and play with your children. Non-economic damages can be compensation for:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress and mental anguish from the injuries
• Loss of companionship or consortium because you cannot interact with your loved ones similarly.
• Scarring and disfigurement.
• Loss of enjoyment of life.

Non-economic damages can be more challenging to determine. When estimating what your claim should settle for, the insurance company could use the multiplier or per diem methods. The multiplier method multiplies your economic losses by a figure between 1 and 5, while the per diem method pays you a set sum every day the injuries affect you. Most often, the per diem sum is your day’s wages.

Your Tulsa personal injury lawyer will assist you with documenting your non-economic losses so you can get the most compensation possible.

Insurance Policy Limits

In many personal injury cases, you must deal with an insurance company that will eventually pay you when the case is resolved. It could be an auto insurance, homeowner’s, business, or malpractice insurance company.

While you can demand as much money as you want for damages, be aware that insurance companies have policy limits for liability claims. They aren’t required to pay more than the policy limit. If your demand or jury award amount exceeds the policy limits, you would have to collect from the at-fault party themselves, which may be fruitless if they don’t have substantial assets or income.

How Is Fault Determined in Tulsa Personal Injury Cases?

Many factors will determine who was at fault for the accident that injured you. If it was a motor vehicle accident, the following pieces of evidence may determine who was at fault:

• Law enforcement report and investigation: The responding police officer will document the crash scene, gather evidence, and talk to witnesses. The police report may have an opinion about who caused the accident, and the insurance company will rely on this as evidence.
• State and local traffic laws: If the at-fault driver violated the law, this can be important for determining fault.
• Eyewitness statements: Objective third-party statements are often used to determine who caused the accident.
• Vehicle damage: Reviewing the accident scene and vehicle damage is often crucial to determining fault.
• Photographs and video evidence: Photographs taken after the accident can be substantial evidence for determining liability. Also, any available surveillance video can be significant, too.
• Cell phone records: If distracted driving is suspected, cell phone records can be reviewed to determine if someone was texting and driving.

Your attorney will thoroughly review the case evidence to determine who caused the accident. They will present their evidence to the insurance company in a demand letter. If the insurance company contests liability, the case could take longer to resolve.

Also, state law in Oklahoma Statutes Title 23, Section 13 states that a plaintiff’s compensation can be lowered according to their percentage of fault. This is known as comparative negligence, and if you are found partially at fault, the court may reduce your compensation. You cannot recover compensation if you are more than 50% at fault. Your attorney understands the state’s comparative negligence laws and will ensure you are blamed as little as possible for the incident when fault is questioned.

How Nix Patterson’s Tulsa Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

A Tulsa personal injury attorney will examine the details of your situation and ascertain how to resolve it for the most compensation. Often, your attorney will review the case, submit a demand letter to the insurance company, and negotiate a settlement.

But it also could be necessary to take the case to trial and ask for damages from a jury. Most personal injury claims are settled, but the insurance company sometimes dig in and refuse to offer a fair settlement. If that happens, your Nix Patterson attorney is prepared to go the distance and get you fair compensation in court.

Other things your personal injury attorney will do to help your case are:

• Use their negotiation skills and experience to get the best settlement
• Assist you with documenting and proving pain and suffering
• Bring a logical, objective legal perspective to the case
• Research the accident to find out who was responsible. In some cases, it could be multiple parties, which could increase the potential compensation available
• Navigate the Tulsa legal and court system for a more efficient process
• Engage with law firm resources such as private investigators and expert witnesses
• Interview eyewitnesses to the accident
• Properly value the case, which could lead to more compensation
• Provide legal guidance during negotiations, mediation, and trial
• Offer professional advice on the best course of action

A less understood measure of assistance could be to help with your medical expenses. Experienced personal injury attorneys may offer access to doctors and other medical professionals who will bill when the case is completed. So you could access high-quality healthcare that you could not otherwise afford. The doctor’s bills would be paid from your settlement or verdict amount. Your attorney also may persuade doctors to take less than full payment for their services, which could put more money in your pocket.

Your Tulsa personal injury lawyer will also ensure that your medical expenses are included in your settlement offer. That way, you will not have additional costs by being forced to pay for medical expenses from monies that are earmarked for other losses and future medical care.

When Should You Hire a Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyer?

You should talk to a personal injury attorney if another party’s actions hurt you. Not every accident and injury will lead to a successful claim, but an experienced Nix Patterson lawyer can review your case and discuss legal options. Some examples of when to hire a lawyer are:

• In a motor vehicle accident caused by another driver: Even ‘minor’ accident injuries can be expensive to treat and could be worse than initially thought.
• In a complicated accident with multiple parties: An accident involving a bus, airplane, tractor-trailer, or multiple vehicles can be challenging to sort out, and only an attorney experienced in these matters can get you the best compensation.
• In a public venue: If you were hurt in a retail store, you should talk to a lawyer.
• In a medical procedure: If a medical professional made a mistake that injured you, an attorney should file a medical malpractice claim.
• Because of a defective product: You have a right as a consumer to use products that are supposed to be safe and not harm you.

Speak to Nix Patterson’s Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers Today

Were you recently hurt in a Tulsa motor vehicle or other accident? Did another person’s negligence cause your injuries? Oklahoma law allows you to seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit for your medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.

For a complimentary consultation, speak to our Tulsa personal injury lawyers at Nix Patterson today. Our lawyers are skilled and experienced at holding negligent parties liable for their mistakes. Nix Patterson lawyers aren’t paid unless they obtain money for you in a settlement or jury award, so you have no out-of-pocket legal costs.